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26 July 2015

Back in 2012, I had my first mobile injection room spotting. A cream
colored ride, with a yellow cross and the word “Fixerum, førstehjælp”
(injection room, first aid) on the sides. It launched in September 2011, and I meant to write about it
then, but the subject is so hard and depressing that I kept putting it
off. An approach I at the time shared with the city administration,
turning a blind eye to the problem.

The injection room was a
guerrilla initiative by a small, frustrated group of locals, led by social innovator
Michael Lodberg, who could no longer stand by and watch the struggle of
the drug addicts, criminalized and left to inject and often die from an
overdose, in public. As the city refused to run or even allow an
injection room, Michael Lodberg raised the money for an old ambulance,
and staffed it with volunteer nurses and doctors.

As
the ambulance set out, they didn’t know what to expect. Maybe they would get arrested? Maybe locals would chase them away? Instead, the initiative was
widely embraced. It was obviously a better solution for everyone, to
have drugs administered in a designated space, where used needles would be
collected, and kept off the streets. It offered a measure of dignity
for the users, clean needles and someone there to revive them, if they
overdosed.

Another ambulance was later donated, lives
were saved and one year in, the mobile injection room was such a resounding success that
the city finally caved, and took over the project. This is now a part of
Copenhagen history, and the first ambulance has even become a part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of Denmark.

Michael Lodberg's mission to restore dignity to society's most vulnerable, continues. We met at his office in the meat
packing district, to discuss his latest project: Pantringen, the deposit ring. A garbage can accessory, shaped like a half-moon shelf, where you
can leave the deposit bottles for collectors. Unlike the case of The Test Tubes (a cup-stacking device by yours truly), this idea was embraced by the cleaning department,
who have entered a trial period with the deposit ring, in selected areas.

The purpose of the ring is double: it spares deposit collectors the
humiliation of digging through garbage, and it helps save the
environment. Last year alone deposit bottles worth 166 million DKR were
never returned. An incredible waste of resources, and a strain on the
environment. We agreed: people who collect deposit bottles are really
environmental heroes. Instead of being treated like a pariah, they should be dressed in capes, and saluted for the work that so many
can’t be bothered to do themselves.

I don't know about you, but I am tempted to throw in a super-cape for Lodberg too.

19 July 2015

01 July 2015

So. Remember the big trees on Nørrebros Runddel that we managed to save a few weeks ago? The city is remaking the street, and planned to cut down all the old trees, and start over with a fancy new square. We managed to limit the damages, but still out of the six, three was deemed not salvageable, and it just didn’t sit right. I was happy about the three big trees, but at the same time it felt like a betrayal to the last two, only “on their way to becoming risk trees”. You don’t want to be ungrateful when they did spare three, but on the other hand you can’t let that feeling go...

One of the great things about the tree group, is that a lot of tree experts and biologists are following. Some of them inspected the trees, and didn’t agree with the city’s verdict, or reasons for felling. Our mayor of trees Morten Kabell is reading our posts too, and told us he would look into it one more time. A week later he returned with the good news: another two would be spared. Bringing the felling down to one. Imagine that? This mayor gives me such hope for the Copenhagen trees.

Now my gut is finally at ease. I knew that Runddelen was where Danish artist Henry Heerup grew up, so at least one of the trees would have had to be “his”. I looked into the age of the trees. They are from 1907. I looked into when Henry Heerup was born. 1907. Goosebumps! Everything somehow fell into place.

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Greetings

We love Copenhagen so expect us to be biased. We hug trees, and we love street art, flea markets, old cars and new ideas. We go everywhere by bike, and nowhere without a camera. We worship freedom of speech and believe in democracy, but we have long since lost faith in our politicians. Me and my big mouth.